


ｓｕｇａｒ　ｓｗｅｅｔ

by Sp00py



Series: Nightmares Over Yonder [2]
Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: Bees, Fluff, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, it's a nice story this time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 01:11:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10911243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sp00py/pseuds/Sp00py
Summary: Wander's having some trouble sleeping.





	ｓｕｇａｒ　ｓｗｅｅｔ

**Author's Note:**

> A continuation of ＨＯＮＥＹ－ＳＷＥＥＴ inspired by some lovely pictures, below, by yugimew on Tumblr.

 

* * *

Wander lay in the circle of Sylvia's body, tucked safely in the sling, his hands clasped in hers to keep him from itching at the scarred over mess under his eye-patch. They were on a planet full of quiet, trickling waterfalls and starry reflections, trying to relax like nothing had changed.

He wiggled what few fingers he had left, watching them dance like little orange grubs on her tough, blue skin. She was looking at them, too, a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry, buddy. You'd still have them if I'd gotten to you earlier --"

Wander's giggle cut off her apology. "It's not th' end of the world, Sylvia. They'll grow back."

"I know but -- wait, they'll do what?" She let him go in her surprise, which had the benefit of getting rid of that sour face -- Wander didn't want to be the cause of any of Sylvia's bad moods, though he _knew_ he was the cause of at least a few.

His hand immediately inched toward his eye-socket, and Sylvia pulled it back. "They'll grow back," he repeated, not sure what she wasn't getting. "Everythin' does, eventually."

" _Everything_?" Sylvia should have guessed, given that he was moving around a lot more than a person who had only recently had half their torso eaten away by bees then carved out by Watchdog surgeons. He kept most of the damage hidden in his sweaters still. But fingers and eyes -- those were things that stayed gone for most people. Visual signs of what had been done to him, scars Sylvia thought he'd carry forever.

"Everythin'," Wander echoed. Sylvia gently poked his eye-patch, and he nodded. "Even that. I'm sorry I didn't think t' tell ya. I never much thought about it, because you're almost always there to protect me, but there ain't really much Dominator could do to me that'd keep me down."

Sylvia's mouth twisted up, and she was silent a long moment, processing that. Finally, she said, "You flinch at flowers. You can't play your banjo right. You still cry at night."

Wander giggled guiltily. "Hahah. What are you talkin' about?"

"I'm not always sleeping, Wander. Not anymore." Now that she'd mentioned it, Wander did notice she looked a little dark under the eyes. They both did. It was a hard thing they had lived through. But they  _had_ lived through it.

Wander scratched at the back of his head, but aware he'd been caught. He even knew which night Sylvia was talking about, though there were far more he'd successfully hidden. Nights where he woke up in a panic, blind, feeling honey bubbling in his throat and the deafening buzz of bees. Wander loved his bees, don't get him wrong, but he knew they didn't love him back in the same way. He was food and a home for them, nothing more. Sometimes it felt like he'd never stopped being that. He was terrified that he'd wake up one day and be back in Dominator's ship, all this just a dream, bees crawling through his honeycombed body, not a care for they were doing to him. He hated feeling so conflicted over something he should love. He hated not knowing if this was real.

Wander had spent more nights than Sylvia knew in the woods or in an orbble far away, clawing through his fur for signs of bees and wires, scratching himself bloody, feeling honey pour out instead. Screaming and sick and terrified, even though he knew -- _he knew_ \-- he was safe. Sylvia had rescued him. Right?

He made sure to keep the worst episodes away from Sylvia, because he knew she felt bad enough that it had happened at all, but there was one night he couldn't bring himself to sneak away.

On that night he'd cuddled down in his hat, tucked into the curl of her body just like he was now, happily asleep and safe, until a tickling in his fur had woken him. He'd shot awake, expecting bees, but instead saw lightning bugs had decided to make the field their ballroom. It was beautiful, like the stars were putting on a show.

Some of them were on Sylvia, tickling her snout, making her pink frills twitch.

Wander had carefully shooed them away, then planted paranoid little kisses everywhere a lightning bug had landed like that would protect her. He did it a second time, and a third time, because third time's the charm, right? But even with that balm, Wander felt he'd been too late. Sylvia wasn't like him, she'd _die_. And it'd be his fault.

He knew, on some level, he was being irrational, so forced himself not to wake her up and worry her. Wander couldn't help the tears that began to fall as horrible images of what would happen filled his head, though. He didn't want to leave her this time, not if it was going to be their last time together, so he swallowed his sobs and lay there, shaking against her and crying as silently as he could manage.

Wander thought he'd hidden it well enough, so when Sylvia had curled her neck and tail tighter, pressing against him and reminding him that she was still healthy and hale, he'd assumed that was just Sylvia's normal shifting in her sleep. He guessed he'd been wrong. He felt like that happened more as of late, or it struck him a little deeper than it used to.

"Oh, y-ya heard that, did ya? I was tryin' to be sneaky."

"Which is why I didn't say anything. I can't understand what you're going through, and I want you to recover at your own pace, but Wander -- Dominator _hurt_ you. You don't have to pretend like she didn't, like you aren't scared."

"I'm fine," Wander insisted. Sylvia grabbed him as he tried to scratch his eye-socket again. He looked at her hand around his. "Well.... mostly. I'll get over it. Just need some time and the power of love 'n' such."

Sylvia snorted. "How much better would you feel if I stormed into Dominator's ship and punched her teeth in? Because I know that'd make _me_ feel a lot better."

"Sylvia!"

"Wander." At Wander's pout, Sylvia chuckled and nuzzled against his cheek. "Fine, fine. I won't do anything like that -- for now. I'll promise that if you promise to talk to me."

"I don't know if I can," Wander said delicately. "It's really scary stuff. I don't wanna worry you."

"It worries me that you're not talking to me. All you tell me is that you're okay, but I know that's not true. I love you, Wander, you're my best friend in the universe. If I can handle _dying_ with you, I think I can handle whatever's in that head of yours." She rubbed his head affectionately, knocking Wander's hat askew. He righted it with another laugh, this one more heartfelt.

"I suppose so," he said slowly. Wander'd been shoving these thoughts and fears down so far, just the idea of dredging them up again and putting them to words hurt. It was like bees buzzing, waiting to spill out in a starry, blue ichor. "There's a lot. Um, where.... where do ya want me to start?"

Sylvia pondered this a moment, then said, "We'll start easy. Do you just regenerate or are you like, immortal or something?"

"Weeell..."

* * *

After Wander detailed everything that had happened, worked through every terrified (and, yeah, even Sylvia would admit, _terrifying_. She hadn't realized how dark things could get in Wander's head) emotion in words and pained silence and tears, she found some small children to throw him at. Quiet and calm would just let him sink back into those thoughts. Wander needed chaos. Dr. Sylvia's orders.

He brightened up immediately, and quickly joined the children playing on the playground, the only flowers in sight some dandelions and daisies struggling valiantly to grow between cracks in the cement. Sylvia found a bench a little apart from the parents gathered and watched Wander like a hawk watching some vulnerable, weak little kitten drowning in a lumpy sweater. The children had quickly decided that was what he was, too, and welcomed him into the fold so they could pet and play with him. It made her nervous, seeing strangers getting so friendly with Wander, but he was enjoying the attention. He always did like kids way more than Sylvia ever would.

Occasionally, she scanned the sky for any signs of Dominator or her bots, the fact that she'd let Wander go so easily always simmering in the back of Sylvia's mind. It made her paranoid. Dominator had to be planning something even worse than what she'd already done. Sylvia wanted to just pick Wander up, whisk him away, and hide him from everything that could hurt him ever. That would be the worst thing to do to him, though. Even with all the dangers her sweet, tiny friend faced, he was only happy wandering.

Dominator had locked him away, watched as bees ate him alive. Those wires and tubes she'd stuck into Wander hadn't been to keep him alive, but to keep him aware as he was eaten from the inside out. At least that's what Wander suspected, and the fact that _Wander_ could come to that conclusion, that Dominator would do that, churned Sylvia's stomach. It was almost impossible to believe that someone could be that cruel, but somehow Wander didn't hold it against Dominator. He remembered how, when he was fading in and out, she'd sit with him and just talk. He'd liked those times, even when she'd taste the honey overflowing from his eye or mouth, because he hadn't been alone. And Dominator hadn't been, either.

He wouldn't say what Dominator had talked about, but it reminded Sylvia just how magical Wander was, in his weird little way. Dominator had let him go, eventually, _before_ he was nothing but a hive, and had been very quiet on the destroying the galaxy front as of late. Sylvia wondered if maybe, somehow, Wander had actually connected with her.

Children began to shriek and laugh, running from Wander as he pretended to be the dreaded space pirate Kidgobbler, who in reality just had an unfortunate last name. He'd stuck a feather in his hat and crooked his solitary finger on his right hand like a hook. He was chasing them around, promises to pop them into a pot for dinner coming laboriously. Sylvia could see that, as much as he wanted to keep playing, Wander's energy was starting to flag. He didn't have his usual levels, and she knew it frustrated him. He often wouldn't admit that, just try to push through -- another small twist in the gut for Sylvia. Wander still wasn't back to normal. She wasn't sure he'd ever be, despite what he said. How could anyone be after what he'd been through?

When they rushed past Sylvia, Wander tripped and almost ate cement, but for Sylvia's instinctual reaction to wrap him up in her tail and pick him up right off the ground.

"Arggg!" Wander said, voice a bit breathless as he wriggled in her grip, "Nobody can hold the Kidgobbler." He continued squirming pointedly. When Sylvia didn't loosen her grip, grinning at that statement, he amended, "Only one person can hold the Kidgobbler. Arrr. Maties, I've been captured!"

The children quickly adapted to this new game, clustering around Sylvia as she stood up, keeping Wander just out of their reach.

"Sorry, kids, the Kidgobbler won't be eating anyone today," she said, depositing Wander on the ground where he was immediately swarmed. "We've gotta head out."

"Aww," everyone, including Wander, whined.

"I'm immune to those faces," Sylvia told them, especially Wander with his wibbly lip. "Say goodbye, Wander."

"Goodbye, Wander," he giggled as he disengaged himself from tiny, grabby hands. He climbed up onto Sylvia's back with some help from her tail. They had transitioned back to the saddle as soon as he was able to keep a strong enough grip. Wander preferred to be in the saddle than in a sling, much as he loved being cuddled up next to Sylvia all the time, but he wasn't entirely steady on his feet. There'd been more than a few instances where she'd suddenly found herself riderless, Wander laying in the bottom of the orbble just as confused. The Watchdog doctors had said there was permanent (if it had been anyone else but Wander) damage to the frontal lobe, but they had an unspoken agreement to just pretend he was being clumsy, being silly, and not to draw attention to the tears in his eyes or his strained grin as he climbed back up.

Wander continued waving to the children as they orbbled out, then turned around to drape across Sylvia's back.

"Whew-whee," he said, a tired, genuine smile on his face. "That was loads of fun!"

"I'm glad you liked it, buddy," Sylvia said. "Those kids seemed to like you, too. I'm pretty sure I saw a lollipop or two stuck to your sweater. Reminds me of Huckleberry Knucklehead. Kid sure loved his candy."

When Wander didn't say anything to the easy conversation bait, Sylvia's immediate response was fear. She whipped her head around, and her worry quickly gave way to relief. Wander was sprawled on her saddle, head pillowed on one arm, his other limbs dangling. His eye was closed, and his breathing was level. The eye-patch was secure on his face. He hadn't even made an attempt to scratch at his eye. When he began to talk in his sleep, giggles and happy murmurs spilling out, she relaxed. No nightmares for now.

Sylvia let herself feel optimistic that things would get better, because Wander sure as shooting could use some optimism right about now. Especially if it, impossibly but this was what he claimed, made him heal somehow faster.

She slowed her pace a little more so he wouldn't be disturbed, taking the long, leisurely path wherever the stars led them.


End file.
